Solidarity with Orlando Candlelight Vigil - Wellington

The audio recording, "Solidarity with Orlando Candlelight Vigil - Wellington," memorializes a gathering held at Frank Kitts Park in Wellington on June 13, 2016. Organized by InsideOUT, the event united members of the Wellington community to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.

The vigil was attended by various speakers, including Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, US Ambassador Mark Gilbert, and numerous MPs and community leaders, who expressed their support, grief, and solidarity. The speakers underlined the collective rejection of homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia, urging unity against hate and championing love as a cornerstone of the community.

Mayor Wade-Brown highlighted Wellington's message of love and hope, symbolized by the rainbow-illuminated Michael Fowler Centre, reflecting the city's values of equality and freedom of belief. The Mayor stressed the importance of honoring the lives lost and those suffering as a result of the tragedy, affirming Wellington's support for the Orlando community.

Ambassador Gilbert shared condolences from the US and President Obama, emphasizing the global desire for equality and peace. The Ambassador commended the swift solidarity shown by New Zealand and the need to fight against senseless violence.

Multiple MPs including Jan Logie, Grant Robertson, and Louisa Wall shared their perspectives with MP Wall specifically addressing the need to avoid divisiveness and instead foster unity within the LGBT community and the broader society. They reflected on the shooting's intersection with Pride Month, a period typically joyful and celebratory for the LGBT community, now tarnished by this act of violence.

Members of the community also offered prayers and personal stories, recounting both the global and intimate impacts of the attack on their lives. They spoke of the significance of LGBT safe spaces, personal experiences of fear and resilience, and the collective commitment to exceed hate with love.

A moment of silence was observed, aligning with a global initiative to remember the victims, which was followed by further reflections from the Human Rights Commission and the wider community, including expressions of concern for retaliations against Muslim communities and calls for unity and understanding.

The recording paints a resilient and compassionate community response to a tragedy that reverberated across the world. Concluding with a message of hope and a commitment to overcoming fear with solidarity, the vigil served as a powerful testament to the strength of love and community in the face of violence and terror.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Alexandria Tasker Bella Simpson Celia Wade-Brown Conrad Johnston Elizabeth Kerekere Grant Robertson Hugh Young Jan Logie Kay Jones Louisa Wall Mani Bruce Mitchell Mark Gilbert Paul Boland Rakesh Naidoo Ronald Trifero Nelson Tīwhanawhana

2010s, alexandria tasker, aotearoa new zealand, barack obama, bars, bella simpson, biphobia, celia wade-brown, coming out, community, conrad johnston, diversity, elizabeth kerekere, facebook.com, florida, frank kitts park, gay, grant robertson, grief, hate, hate crime, homophobia, hugh young, human rights commission, insideout kōaro, intersex, islam, islamic state of iraq and syria (isis), jan logie, kay jones, lesbian, lighting of building exterior, louisa wall, love, mani bruce mitchell, mark gilbert, marriage equality, mental health, michael fowler centre, muslims, nightclub, orlando (florida, usa), orlando mass killing (2016), paul boland, pride, pulse nightclub (orlando, usa), queer, rakesh naidoo, religion, richard tankersley, ronald trifero nelson, solidarity, solidarity with orlando candlelight vigil (wellington), suicide, support, takatāpui, terrorism, the glamaphones, tolerance, trans, transphobia, tīwhanawhana, united states of america, vigil, violence, wellington, whakawhanaungatanga

acceptance, actions, adoption, allies, ambassador, anger, assault, attack, australia, author, belief, belief systems, blood, bravery, california, capital, celebration, change, chant, children, china, christmas, church, class, coming up, courage, crime, crying, dance, dancing, data, death, difference, dignity, drag, embassy of the united states, empowerment, equality, events, face, family, fear, feelings, freedom, friends, fun, future, germany, god, gratitude, health, hiding, history, hit, hockey, hope, hug, human rights, humanity, injustice, internet, intolerance, it gets better, job, joe, journey, justice, knowledge, korea, leadership, lgbt, liberty, loss, marriage, marriage equality, massacre, mayor, media, michael fowler, narrative, news, normal, opportunity, other, outreach, pain, parents, peace, people, poetry, police, power, prayer, prejudice, privilege, queen, radio, rainbow, respect, revolution, sad, safety, scene, school, scouts, sea, security, shooting, siblings, silence, sleep, social, social media, space, speech, stand up for love, straight, strength, struggle, threats, time, tough, transgender, transition, travel, understanding, values, walking, women, work, yoga